The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Intelligent patching systems are known in which a centralised analyser is used that is connected through a multitude of wires to each of the output ports and each of the input ports on each of the patch panels, an example of which is illustrated in FIG. 3. The analyser switches the output high and then low for each port in turn. After switching the port high the analyser checks to see if any of the other ports are high. If they are then a connection has been discovered. If not then no connection exists. The system has the drawback, however, that it requires both ends of the cord to be in place before the analyser becomes aware of the cord, as it is only the detection at the remote end that identifies the presence of a patch cord.